For many years, I’ve had the pleasure of attending the Direct Marketing Association’s Catalog on the Road Day in Boston. It’s a worthwhile event — lots of interesting folks show up, and I’ve always managed to come away with a notebook full of good stories.
Of course, this year was a little different. The crowd was noticeably smaller, partly because of an early February snowstorm. But mainly it was because of the economy. And the folks who were there weren’t in the house hoping to just cruise along and enjoy a day away from the office. They were looking for ways to keep their own boats afloat.
The morning keynote was by FAO Schwarz CEO Edward Schmults. Anyone who had the impression it would be a fun-and-games sojourn into the world of playthings was sadly mistaken.
Like most U.S. businesses, the toy retailer is facing tough times. It’s reduced catalog page counts and cut back dramatically on prospect mailings. Overall circulation has been scaled way back in favor of a more robust e-mail marketing program.
The company also reassessed its spending down to the paper-clip level, renegotiating things that at one time would have been unimaginable. Schmults said FAO even got its lawyers to agree to a lower hourly rate.
“That’s a sign of the apocalypse, I’m sure,” he said.
I stepped in for my colleague Tim Parry of Multichannel Merchant and moderated a panel on eco-friendly ways to drive return on investment. Green marketing is always a good topic, but this time it had a slightly different hue.
Sure, everyone knows that being environmentally aware is the right way to go. And if you can boost ROI — or even just your public profile — by practicing it, even better. But now folks want to know what else is in it for them: How can they use eco-initiatives to cut waste and, ultimately, costs?
In the elevator after lunch, someone asked me how the discussion about acquiring new online customers went at my table.
“Great,” I said. “We discovered no one has all the answers.”
“Oh, we did at our table,” someone joked.
“Really?” I said with a laugh.
“Sadly, no,” he said.
And the search continues.
At best, Beth Negus Viveiros has maybe only a third of the answers, but that doesn’t stop her from shooting off her mouth on a regular basis. For more from Beth and all the Direct, Multichannel Merchant and Promo editors, visit BigFatMarketingBlog.com.
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